


Our Love Starts With Fireworks

by I_write_fanfiction_sometimes



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: A little bit of angst, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Boys In Love, Coming Out, Confusion, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mentions of Sex, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, lots of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 02:02:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17416892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_write_fanfiction_sometimes/pseuds/I_write_fanfiction_sometimes
Summary: Liam pulls the ring box out of his socks and slips it into his backpack while Theo is brushing his teeth. He stares at it in the bottom of his bag for a long time.“Whatcha doing?” Theo asks from where he’s leaning against the doorframe.Liam smiles up at him.“Nothing.” He drawls. “I love you.”





	Our Love Starts With Fireworks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CododylWorld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CododylWorld/gifts).



> This is my secret Santa gift to cododylworld, I really hope you enjoy it ❤️! I’m so sorry that it’s so ridiculously late.  
> I used the prompt:  
> Liam wants to marry Theo (his roommate in college) but his parents don't know that he's gay or that he's dating a guy for that matter. When Liam tells them they are a bit taking a back and shocked but after a long while they come around  
> With a little bit of:  
> A road trip but instead of a car it's more like backpacking, they walk and talk about everything and sightsee everything!

Liam looks over at his boyfriend. 

Theo is staring straight ahead with a nearly blank face. If Liam didn’t know him he’d think he was angry. 

But he does know Theo, and he knows what’s happening today. 

It only took three years, but Theo is finally meeting his parents. 

Theo doesn’t know why Liam finally brought it up, doesn’t know about the little black box stuffed inside his socks in his suitcase. He just knows that after three years of dating Liam finally said that he was ready for Theo to meet his parents. 

So Liam understands why Theo looks so tense. 

When they’d first started dating Liam had told Theo that he didn't know how his parents would react to him dating a boy. He said that he wanted to make sure it was real and going to last before he’d even risked telling them. They’d had a ridiculous amount of fights about it over the years, even breaking up once before Liam had shown up to their dorm one night drunk and miserable, apologizing over and over and promising that he’d tell them soon. He’d bought the ring the next week. So here they were, a month later, driving to meet Liam’s parents. 

Liam reaches across the center console to put his hand on Theo’s leg. 

“You shouldn’t worry.” He says quietly. 

Theo sighs and doesn’t look at him. 

“You know it won’t change anything, I’ll still love you.” Liam insists. 

Theo closes his eyes for a moment and his fingers tighten on the steering wheel. 

“It would change things though. It would affect things, I just…” Theo trails off. 

Liam squeezes Theo’s thigh. 

“What are you so worried about?” 

“You know that not having their support would kill you, Liam. You love your parents. It’s not like me.” Theo mumbles, not even glancing over at Liam. 

Liam touches the side of his boyfriend’s face gently. 

“I love you Theo. I won’t give that up, they’ll just have to get used to it.” 

Liam can just make out the edge of a smile on Theo’s face. 

“Promise?”

“Hell yeah babe.” Liam grins and leans over to kiss his cheek.

Theo laughs quietly. 

Some of the seriousness in the car has elevated. They‘re mostly relaxed until Theo pulls into his parent’s driveway. Liam suddenly doesn’t know if he can move. Theo seems to be in a similar state beside him. Eventually, Liam sighs and shoves the door open aggressively. 

Theo follows his lead and they walk up the path together. Before they reach the door Liam grabs Theo’s hand and pulls him to a stop.

“I love you.” He says. 

“I love you too.” Theo says, bewildered.

Liam cups the side of Theo’s head gently and kisses him. Theo makes a surprised noise but pushes closer.  Liam pulls back after a long moment with a gasp.

“I’m not giving that up.” He says determinedly and strides up the steps to the door. 

He hears Theo’s footsteps behind him after a moment but doesn’t turn back to look. 

He only knocks twice before the door flies open and his mom is smiling at him. 

“Liam!” She says happily. 

His father appears behind her just as she pulls Liam into a tight hug. 

“Who’s this?” He asks, and Liam knows he’s talking about Theo. 

“Can we go inside?” Liam asks quietly. 

His parents must sense how serious he is, because they just step back and make their way to the living room, leaving Theo and Liam to take their shoes off. Theo presses a hand against his back in reassurance as they follow. 

They all sit down, his parents in the love seat and Theo and Liam close together on the couch. 

“What is it, honey?” his mom asks. 

“This is Theo. My, ah, my boyfriend.” Liam says, looking up to stare defiantly at his parents. 

Theo presses their ankles together behind the coffee table. 

Nobody says anything for a long moment. 

“You’re-“ his dad starts before shaking his head and cutting himself off. 

“You have a boyfriend? For how long?” He asks instead. 

Liam when doesn’t reply immediately, too surprised that there isn’t more yelling going on, Theo answers for him. 

“We’ve been together over three years.” 

Liam grabs his hand in thanks. He can’t look away from the shocked expression on his mother’s face. She hasn’t said anything yet and his heart rate picks up slowly. 

“Three years? And you didn’t tell us?” His father sounds hurt and Liam finally looks at him. 

He looks confused and slightly upset. 

“I didn’t know how. Or how you’d react if I did tell you.” He mumbles, all the bravado from before faded away. 

“What do you mean?” His mom finally asks. 

“You just. Never seemed very happy at Mason and Corey.” 

Theo squeezes his fingers. 

“But you’re our son!” She exclaims. 

“I didn’t know that that would make a difference!” Liam cries back. 

Here’s the yelling he was prepared for. This he can deal with. He can feel Theo straighten beside him as well. 

“We love you, Liam.” His dad says in a much quieter voice than his wife’s. 

Liam is angry that his eyes are welling up. He sucks in a breath through gritted teeth and can’t even find comfort in the warm press of Theo’s body beside him. 

“You loved the me that liked girls. But I didn’t know if you’d love the me who really doesn’t.”

The room is silent after his words. Theo is tense beside him and Liam feels guilty for bringing him here for this. Theo doesn’t need to do this twice. But when he looks over at his boyfriend he finds Theo staring his parents down. He looks like he’d go through hell for Liam. 

And that’s why he’s doing this, Liam abruptly remembers. He wants to spend a long long time with this boy. The one who fights for Liam. The one who stays up late to watch a new episode of a show that he doesn’t even like just because Liam is. The one who laughed at Liam on the first day for lining his socks up neatly in his dresser, and then smiled so gently at him the next morning that Liam felt a bit of his heart chip away. The one that got into a fight at a party with a guy getting handsy with a girl who’d said no and then smirked through his bloody nose. The one sitting beside him on his parent’s couch in his childhood home while Liam comes out to his parents. 

“I love Theo. And I finally got to a point where he was more important to me than what you think of me. He’s my future.”

Theo jerks beside him at that particular confession, but Liam refuses to look at him right now. He can’t take any kind of rejection that might be on Theo’s face, especially with the ring heavy in the back of his mind. 

“He’s the most important thing that’s happened to me in the last few years.” Liam finishes in almost a whisper, looking at his feet. 

His father clears his throat. 

“It appears that your mother and I have a few apologies to make.” 

There’s a sniffle and Liam jerks his head up to see that his mom is wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. 

“We are so sorry that we made you feel uncomfortable with your own family, Liam.” She chokes out. 

The tears welling up in Liam’s eyes finally spill over and he wipes at them angrily. 

“I’ve worried about this for years.” He forces out through gritted teeth. 

Theo tightens his grip on Liam’s hand in reassurance but doesn’t say anything. Both of Liam’s parents have teary eyes now and Liam abruptly cant take a minute more of this. He can’t stand them sitting there wondering why he didn’t come out when they’d never given him any reason to trust their reaction. He stands up. Theo tries to pull him back down but Liam shakes his head at his boyfriend. 

“I need a minute.” He mutters, voice scratchy. 

He stumbles out of the living room and into the kitchen. He can feel hot tears making their way down his cheeks as he leans against the counter. 

Liam can hear the soft mumble of Theo’s voice from the living room and his father answering him. It’s only a couple more minutes before Theo finds him. 

“Are you okay?” He asks timidly. 

Theo is never timid. Liam closes his eyes. 

“They don’t seem to be taking it badly?” 

Theo sounds confused. Liam kind of understands why he would be. This is like the best case scenario. 

“It’s almost worse.” Liam says quietly. 

Theo steps closer until he’s standing between Liam’s legs. He can feel the warmth of his body. It’s comforting. 

“I’ve been preparing for the worst for so long I don’t really know how to react to this. And they took all those hours from me! Sleep that I needed! Fights with you, it could’ve all been avoided if I’d known!” 

His voice breaks in the middle of his speech and Theo tucks his arms around Liam’s waist. His next words are muffled from where they’re pressed into Theo’s neck. 

“I- they took years of my life up with thinking I wasn’t good enough for them.” 

Theo sighs. 

“I’m sorry. I know how big a deal this was to you. But it’s good right? You don’t have to hide anymore.”

“Yeah.” Liam grumbles. “I guess.”

He can feel Theo’s grin against his cheek. 

———

They leave the next morning. Liam doesn’t want to stay, and his parents still seem a bit shellshocked, so they are out the door as soon as they’ve eaten. 

It’s a long hour and a half to Anaheim. They don’t talk much during the drive, Liam doesn’t want to and Theo seems content to play music loudly and keep his eyes on the road. 

They stop when they get to the hotel that Liam had booked when they first planned this trip and sit in silence for a moment. 

“Are you going to be like this the entire weekend? The entire trip?” Theo asks.

He sounds vaguely annoyed and Liam thinks that maybe he wasn’t as okay with sitting in silence as he’d seemed. 

“No.” Liam starts. 

He doesn’t know what else he wants to say. Theo raises an eyebrow from the driver’s seat. Liam sighs. 

“I’ll be fine after a nap.”

Theo doesn’t look at all reassured. Liam feels profoundly guilty. This is supposed to be an opportunity for them to explore places they’ve never been. And here he is moping in the car like he’s had the worst day of his life. 

“I’m sorry, Theo. I’ve been a pain in the ass.” 

Liam reaches over to take Theo’s hand. 

“I promise. We will have the best time at Disney tomorrow.”

Theo tries to frown down at their hands but Liam knows him well enough to see the way his lip is curling up. 

“Let’s go check in, you sap.” He grumbles. 

There’s laughter in his voice though. Liam laughs and kisses his cheek before getting out of the car. 

———

 

The next morning Liam wakes up with Theo’s entire body wrapped around his. His breath against the back of Liam’s neck makes him shiver. He can’t stop his body from automatically pushing back into his boyfriend. Theo’s grip tightens on his waist, fingertips brushing low on his belly. Liam hisses out a breath. There’s a quiet chuckle behind him. 

“Good morning, baby.” Theo whispers, his lips brushing just behind Liam’s ear. 

Liam groans and Theo laughs at him softly before rolling them until he’s on top of Liam and their bodies are pressed together from chest to hip. Liam grins up at him and Theo gently bites at his lip. The sheets rustle around them as they shift so that they’re kissing deeply and Theo shoves a thigh between Liam’s legs. Liam gasps and tangles Theo’s hair between his fingers. The sun rises while they roll around in the bed, catching on Theo’s hair falling messily across his forehead and casting shadows everywhere they’re joined. Liam’s eyes are blurry when he looks up at Theo, and for a moment all he can see is the dust swirling in the air. Theo looks ridiculously sweet with his brow slightly furrowed in concentration and his eyes nearly glowing in the early light. Liam twists their fingers together and lets himself enjoy the easy roll of their bodies. 

———

They stay in bed for another hour, talking quietly about nothing. Liam doesn’t take his eyes off Theo the entire time. 

Theo likes to pretend that he’s tough, but Liam likes him best when his hair is messy and he can’t stop moving his hands while he’s talking. He’s angelic in the golden light. This is the man he wants to marry. He kisses Theo’s shoulder and Theo stutters mid-sentence before he smiles to himself and continues in a more calm tone. 

“We should probably get up.” Liam whispers after another few minutes have passed. “We had plans.” 

Theo nods. 

“We both need a shower.” He says, gesturing to both of their sweaty bodies. 

“Join me?” Liam asks. 

Theo follows him when he gets up. 

They shower together under water that's nearly too hot. Liam wraps his arms around Theo's waist when he's finished and just holds on, resting his cheek against the top of his back. Theo pats his arm and let's them just stand together for a bit. 

They eventually stumble out of the shower when the water starts to get cold. 

Liam curses when he sees the time and immediately starts throwing clothes at Theo. 

“If you don’t hurry, we won’t get very much Disneyland in before it closes!” Liam exclaims when Theo just stares at him in amusement. 

Theo shakes his head but puts on his clothes, so Liam counts it as a win. 

Liam pulls the ring box out of his socks and slips it into his backpack while Theo is brushing his teeth. He stares at it in the bottom of his bag for a long time. 

“Whatcha doing?” Theo asks from where he’s leaning against the doorframe. 

Liam smiles up at him. 

“Nothing.” He drawls. “I love you.” 

Theo smirks at him around his toothbrush and disappears back into the bathroom. 

They make it through the gates just around lunch time. Theo looks slightly stunned at everything, glancing around with wide eyes. Liam watches him silently, only a little sad that Theo hadn’t gotten to experience this as a kid because now Liam gets to see the wonder on his face when they walk through the castle gates. 

They don’t spend too much time in Disneyland because Liam wants to go on some of the bigger rides over in California adventure, but they spend enough time that their legs start to hurt from all the walking. 

It turns out Theo loves the teacups and hates Space Mountain, which Liam mocks him for mercilessly. 

“I don’t like all the weird lights!” Theo groans after Liam breaks into another fit of giggles over their photo. 

He’s grinning though when Liam looks at him. 

They kiss in the space between the parks until another couple whistles at them and Theo jerks back with a sheepish grin. Liam just twists their fingers together and drags him to go on some real rides. 

They get soaked on splash mountain and the grizzly bear run and shiver their way through around the Ferris wheel. 

Liam is nearly sick when they get in one of the moving carriages on the Ferris wheel, Theo gets one laugh out before he groans and closes his eyes. They both agree it’s the worst thing they’ve ever been on. 

Liam drags Theo onto the California Screamer and they’re both jumpy with adrenaline after. 

The air cools down quickly when they finally slow down and look for a place to eat. They find a Sunday place behind the food court on the wharf and eat too much chocolate.

They watch the water and light show before they head out to the space between parks to watch the fireworks. 

Liam is jumpy when they sit down and Theo looks at him strangely. He doesn’t have time to say anything because there’s a bang and the first firework explodes in the sky. 

The lights reflect on Theo’s skin and make his eyes glimmer. Liam sucks in a breath through his suddenly dry mouth. He reaches into his backpack and pulls out the box. Theo glances over at the rustle of fabric and then his eyes widen and he stumbles to his feet. 

Liam can’t breath through what seems to be his stomach in his throat. 

“Theo.” He starts. 

Theo’s hands are shaking, he realizes, he can see them shaking even in what little light the fireworks provide. A golden flash lights up their faces. 

“I’ve spent the last three years being in love with you.” Liam whispers, shifting to kneel. 

“I want to spend the rest of my life just like this. Whenever I think about my future, you’re the first thing I see. And that’s a little bit scary, but I don’t want it any other way.” 

Theo lets out a choked gasp and his hands move frantically, touching his mouth, his hair, his elbows like they can’t figure out where they should be. 

“I’m asking you now because it’s a new chapter of our life and I want to start it with the best thing that’s already in my life. You. I want you beside me forever. So Theo Raeken, will you-“ Liam takes a shuddering breath. “Will you marry me?” 

Theo is crying, he realizes through the ringing in his ears. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Theo cry. Then the world focuses again and he can hear Theo saying yes over and over again. Suddenly he’s being pulled to his feet by his elbows and dragged into a kiss. His hands are crushed between them, and Theo’s cheeks are slightly damp, but Liam thinks it might be the best kiss he’s ever had. 

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sorry if any Disneyland stuff is wrong, I haven’t been in a few years so my memory is a bit rusty.  
> I hope you liked it! Thoughts and kudos are appreciated 😊  
> Sorry again that it’s late.  
> Tumblr: [x](https://iwritefanfictionsometimes.tumblr.com/)


End file.
